NEK1 variants confer susceptibility to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Kenna KP., van Doormaal PTC., Dekker AM., Ticozzi N., Kenna BJ., Diekstra FP., van Rheenen W., van Eijk KR., Jones AR., Keagle P., Shatunov A., Sproviero W., Smith BN., van Es MA., Topp SD., Kenna A., Miller JW., Fallini C., Tiloca C., McLaughlin RL., Vance C., Troakes C., Colombrita C., Mora G., Calvo A., Verde F., Al-Sarraj S., King A., Calini D., de Belleroche J., Baas F., van der Kooi AJ., de Visser M., Ten Asbroek ALMA., Sapp PC., McKenna-Yasek D., Polak M., Asress S., Muñoz-Blanco JL., Strom TM., Meitinger T., Morrison KE., SLAGEN Consortium None., Lauria G., Williams KL., Leigh PN., Nicholson GA., Blair IP., Leblond CS., Dion PA., Rouleau GA., Pall H., Shaw PJ., Turner MR., Talbot K., Taroni F., Boylan KB., Van Blitterswijk M., Rademakers R., Esteban-Pérez J., García-Redondo A., Van Damme P., Robberecht W., Chio A., Gellera C., Drepper C., Sendtner M., Ratti A., Glass JD., Mora JS., Basak NA., Hardiman O., Ludolph AC., Andersen PM., Weishaupt JH., Brown RH., Al-Chalabi A., Silani V., Shaw CE., van den Berg LH., Veldink JH., Landers JE.
To identify genetic factors contributing to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), we conducted whole-exome analyses of 1,022 index familial ALS (FALS) cases and 7,315 controls. In a new screening strategy, we performed gene-burden analyses trained with established ALS genes and identified a significant association between loss-of-function (LOF) NEK1 variants and FALS risk. Independently, autozygosity mapping for an isolated community in the Netherlands identified a NEK1 p.Arg261His variant as a candidate risk factor. Replication analyses of sporadic ALS (SALS) cases and independent control cohorts confirmed significant disease association for both p.Arg261His (10,589 samples analyzed) and NEK1 LOF variants (3,362 samples analyzed). In total, we observed NEK1 risk variants in nearly 3% of ALS cases. NEK1 has been linked to several cellular functions, including cilia formation, DNA-damage response, microtubule stability, neuronal morphology and axonal polarity. Our results provide new and important insights into ALS etiopathogenesis and genetic etiology.